The Parliament of Mongolia has approved 22 areas for national protected areas

In recent years, environmental degradation and natural resource depletion have been increasing as a result of climate change and adverse human impacts. Therefore, it is necessary to extend the network of protected areas to preserve natural state, ecological balance, and restore natural resources. For that reason, Parliament of Mongolia has approved 22 areas for national protected areas on 2 May 2019.
The described areas cover 3.4 million hectares of 9 provinces throughout the nation and 11 areas out of them are located in the Amur-Heilong Ecoregion which include an important areas for Mongolian gazelle (7 areas) and freshwater ecosystems (4 areas); 2 areas out of them are located in the Altai-Sayan Ecoregion which include an important areas for Snow leopard. According to the survey, by taking these areas under protection the unique natural sites, pristine nature, historical and cultural heritage, about 350 species of rare animal and plant will be preserved. Moreover, the protection will cover 3.7 percent of spring sources and 3.2 percent of forest resources. In addition, the territory of protected areas will increase by 2.1 percent, reaching 3.4 million hectares, which accounts for 19.8 percent of the total land of Mongolia.
In terms of increasing territory of protected areas, WWF-Mongolia and other stakeholders have jointly conducted a broader set of preparation activities such as developing the justification for the proposed protected area, organizing discussions and consultations at local level, and conducting public awareness activities. This has been the largest decision ever made in last 10 years after a long diligence of the stakeholders including government and non-government organizations, Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Protected Area Administrations, and TNC, UNDP, as well as local citizens.

The described areas cover 3.4 million hectares of 9 provinces throughout the nation.